The Rottweiler is an ancient breed whose history goes back to the ancient days of the Roman Empire. Though their history has not been thoroughly documented, Rottweilers are believed to have descended from the large mastiff-type dogs that went into battle next to the soldiers of the Roman Empire.

The history of the breed continued after the days of the Romans when the dog was used as a cattle dog in Southern Germany, including around the town of Rottweil, after which the breed was named. The dog was originally known as the Rottweil Butcher Dog.

Rottweilers initially worked the cattle fields, defending the cows from predators and thieves but eventually they fell out of favor with the cattle-owners. Their descent into unpopularity was so steep that according to some reports, there was only a single female Rottweiler in Rottweil in 1900.

But World War I and the need for tougher dogs for police and war work saw a revival of the breed in Europe. Soon the dogs also made a splash in the United States and became more and more popular, eventually earning recognition by the American Kennel Club.

While not bred to be a fighting dog, the Rottweiler eventually found itself a popular choice among dog fighters if only because of its massive size and the power of its jaws. Unfortunately, the breed’s huge success in dog fights led some owners to breed more and more aggressive Rottweilers; the more aggressive, the better. The fallout of that excessively aggressive breeding is the Rottweiler’s tarnished reputation as being an inherently aggressive and ferocious dog.

However, it is important to keep in mind that like any other breed of dog, a Rottweiler will only turn out as friendly or as aggressive as his upbringing. If the dog is bred to be a family pet and treated as such it can be a credit to its long history and not just another scary story in the newspaper.